News Archive - Jan, 2003

ESATO: Another meet and new faces appear - 12:36pm 27-Jan-2003

Met up again at the AmCorp Mall. Saw some new faces and in true SE spirit took the group photo using my MCA-25.


Left to right: veon18, leong, lestertm, vee jun, shithappens, yapliren, ShawO, fulat^t68


Left to right: veon18, leong, lestertm, vee jun, shithappens, yapliren, ShawO, fulat^t68


Left to right: leong, ajack, lestertm, vee jun, shithappens, yapliren, veon18, ShawO

Rumour: T68i successor, the T610 - 2:13pm 24-Jan-2003

Looks like guys at Panoramafirm have some tasty bits about the T68i successor, it would be called the T610 and will be about the size of a T300. It has all the features of the T68 and that it would have a build in camera, Java (MIDP), MOPHUN, polyphony ringtones and 16-bit color (2^16 = 65536 colors). There is no picture yet but from what I've heard before, this is the real thing. Expect SE to announce it soon.

You can read the complete story here (Polish only).

Update: 24-Jan-2003, 6:39pm
Here is a machine translation from Polish into English (Thanks to poltran )

Successor distinguishes T68i it presents chosen operators according to informal information sony ericsson - sony ericsson 2003-01-20 already successor model sony ericsson T610 18:18 prtototypy T68i. New model has been called by producer T610. It is furnished with all almost possible available functions in phones presently. First of all, built in camera distinguishes from him (it) T68i, screen displaying 65 thousand color and call polifoniczne. Standard of application serves java T610 and standard of application MOPHUN, from model known already T300. Has built in from rear of casing camera T610 VGA. Apparatus is approximated for model form T300, however, it is thinnest about many, but casing is executed from high quality of material. New serves SELENIUM MMS-y, Bluetooth, postage (harbors) podczerwieni, GSM works in (to) three ranges of networks. It declares sony ericsson, that new model will appear in second (other) quarter already this year.

Survey on relationships between Americans and cell phones - 11:12am 22-Jan-2003

Relationships... they're fodder for daytime soaps, romance novels, talk shows and now, wireless phone owners. According to a recent national survey conducted by Siemens, most Americans are in "relationships" with wireless phones, as 65% currently own them. But, are they truly satisfied? Are their relationships full of passion and attraction? While more than half of American wireless phone owners describe their relationship with their phones as a mix of business and pleasure, 36% say it's strictly business. And, while 35% admit they're constant companions with their mobile phones and can't live without them, about 20% say it's time to break up and find a new phone mate.

Read the complete story here.

TV on mobile phone - 11:52am 21-Jan-2003

The guys at Totonox have a story on Sony doing a TV receiver via the Memory Stick.

I found this Picture on a chinese website, according to the site this is a TV receiver from sony, design for PDA or Mobile Phone which have Memory Stick Slot but I can't find more information on it and no idea the TV receiver will be compatible with which MS slot (MS/MS Pro/MS Duo). Hopefully can work with MS Duo since I'm a P800 owner. Beside the TV receiver I found the phone in this picture is quite interesting too, will it be the next PDA phone from SE?? Hmmm, we have to wait and see.

Read the complete story here.

Westel: WAP is successful - 11:50am 21-Jan-2003

Hungary's Westel says that it's WAP portal now has over 1 million pages viewed every day. This would put it as the fourth most popular native web site in Hungary according to figures compiled by Medi n Webaudit.

Read the complete story here.

TMTOUCH: Hoax SMS message - 11:45am 21-Jan-2003

Malaysia's TM Cellular Sdn Bhd, the operator of the TMTOUCH GSM network has issued an advisory notice to all its subscribers that it is not responsible for the fictitious promotional message on the RM100 (US$26) free credit to customers via its short message service (SMS). TMTOUCH subscribers are being advised not to heed the message.

Read the complete story here.

Updated the links and firmware revision page (again!) - 5:12pm 20-Jan-2003

Updated the Links and Firmware revision pages...

Was at EricServe, met Esato's "penang" there - 9:26am 20-Jan-2003

Was at EricServe to change my very scratched T68m's gold front housing to the more beautiful T68i Mineral Gray... while there, I met up with fulat^t68, alex and penang. Since nobody else had seen penang before, here is his internet premiere...


penang
The picture above have been shrunk by the browser. If you save a copy of the pictures onto your local drive, you will be able to view a higher resolution copy of this picture.

Updated the firmware revision page - 9:18am 20-Jan-2003

Updated the firmware page today, has updated P800 firmware revision.

Updated the WAP pages - 11:23am 16-Jan-2003

Updated the WAP pages, it's easier to navigate and has less clutter.

The guys at GSMBOX do the T300 - 10:49am 16-Jan-2003

Third child of the new Japanese-Swedish family, the T300 can be appreciated for its rich list of functions. It can also be noticed for its unusual design, which creates contrasting reactions in those who see it. However, most people do not seem to like it, and it is true that is has already been called "soap bar" because of its thick, round shape.

Read the complete story here.

Gyms muscle out camera/cell phones - 10:43am 16-Jan-2003

Warning: Use of camera-equipped mobile phones could be hazardous to your health.

That's the message going out from at least one chain of health clubs in Hong Kong, where a new generation of cell phones that can take and transmit video and still photos is raising concerns over a new crop of privacy-related issues.

Read the complete story here.

One billion GSM subscribers by 2004 - 10:40am 16-Jan-2003

According to figures released today by the GSM Association, the GSM family of wireless communications continues to lead the 'most poular' contest of the wireless world. Estimates from the association show that at the end of 2002, there were 787 million GSM subscribers across 190 countries of the world - and now it's expected that a staggering one billion subscribers will use GSM networks at the end of 2003.

Read the complete story here.

Stealth Antennas Try to Blend In - 10:30am 16-Jan-2003

In the world of wireless, figuring where to put those hulking cell towers creates a catch-22.

Cell-phone users want to be able to roam far and wide while getting crystal-clear reception. But extending and improving the quality of wireless transmissions requires new and taller antennas, and communities often balk at plans to erect more of those ugly metal towers.

It's forcing the wireless communications industry into stealth mode.

Read the complete story here.

WDN does the P800 and an insight to it's development - 4:11pm 14-Jan-2003

The Sony Ericsson P800 is probably the most anticipated phone based on the Symbian OS because it takes Symbian head to head with existing PDAs and smartphone products from both Palm and Microsoft. However the P800 is much more phone like the products based on these other operating systems, but it was not always going to be that way. The history of the P800 goes back to Ericsson's decision to become a part of the Symbian joint venture in 1999. Ulf Wretling, Director, Developer Program commented that "when Ericsson originally engaged with Symbian 4 years ago we did so after looking at a number of possible operating systems for our future smartphones. Our choice was based on the power of the operating system, which certainly allows us to do things that can not be achieved with some of the alternatives we looked at. Also its very efficient in it use of power and memory, for example we have 400 hours standby time on the P800. And from a business perspective the licensing model was very attractive."

Read the complete story here.

barga!nPDA.com does a live report from CES on the P800 - 12:07pm 14-Jan-2003

A couple other notes. The cradle looks very sweet for the P800, it's a discus shape that adds a littler personality to the traditionally boring cradle. The P800 can also take advantage of other SE accessories like a wall charger that is cable-less and peripherals like an FM radio clip and headsets.

Read the complete story here.

Demand for P800 was strong - 2:31pm 13-Jan-2003

GEAB said early demand for Sony Ericsson's much-anticipated P800, which combines the functions of a phone and personal digital assistant, was strong. The high-end phone has accounted for 13.6% of the retailer's sales, measured by revenue, since it went on sale Dec. 23, a spokeswoman said.

<SNIP>

In terms of the number of phones sold in December, Nokia held five of the top 10 spots at GEAB, while Sony Ericsson had four.

In terms of revenue, Sony Ericsson's T68 color-screen phone ranked first, followed by the Nokia 3310 and Sony Ericsson's T200 and P800.

Nokia's first camera phone, the 7650, which it launched over the summer, didn't rank in the top 10 on either list.

A successful debut for the P800 is seen as crucial for Sony Ericsson.

Read the complete story here.

P800 is a star of Sony Ericsson Hollywood Premiere Party - 2:25pm 13-Jan-2003

S/// did a premiere launch of the P800 in Hollywood with all the big name stars attending. Below is a picture of Samual Jackson holding the P800.

Read the complete story here.

Mobiledia does the T300 - 2:21pm 13-Jan-2003

Released June 2002, the T300 has a clean design, distinct lines, a full color screen and quality materials that make the T300 stand out from others. Underneath lies a wide range of features that make the it move to the top of its price range. Features include MMS, text messaging with pictures and sounds (EMS), picture messaging and WAP to download new multimedia content from the Web. It even has its own e-mail that lets you use your T300 to send and receive e-mail at any location. Colored faceplates and screen appearance can be changed to fit personal style and preferences. The T300 has fun sounds, pictures and games which add on to the eye candy that complements functionality.

Read the complete story here.

Malaysian ESATO members meet again!... - 11:57am 13-Jan-2003

EricServe had a PROTOTYPE unit of the P800 and invited ESATO members to go play around with the smartphone. We all agreed to meet on Saturday, 11-Jan-2003 at 1:00pm. Members who saw the unit started taking out their credit cards and asking "when can I get one?" while others started drooling. We then went over to Starbucks to do the Malaysian thing and started to makan ("eat" in Malay).


Left to right: sanjeevjaya, gilthoniel, alex, fulat^t68, Jeffrey, shithappens and vee jun


Left to right: sanjeevjaya, gilthoniel, alex, fulat^t68, Jeffrey (showing the P800), shithappens and Vee Jun

The following two pictures were taken with the P800 by Jeffrey. They are unedited to show you what kind of picture quality the P800 takes. Do bear in mind that Jeffrey is not an expert at taking pictures and his hands seem to be a bit shakey (especially in the first picture) and due to the bright lighting behind the group, the pictures did not turn out well. This can only show you what type of picture quality you can expect the first few times you use the camera. I know as I had the same problem the first few times I used my MCA-25. The interesting part was that the pictures were taken by the P800 and it was infra-red to my T68i and I kept it over the weekend and transfered them onto my PC (via infra-red) this morning.


Left to right: sanjeevjaya, gilthoniel, alex, fulat^t68


Left to right: shithappens, ajack (back, standing) and Vee Jun

The pictures above have been shrunk by the browser. If you save a copy of the pictures onto your local drive, you will be able to view a higher resolution copy of the pics.

SoundID: Personalized Digital Sound - 5:03pm 10-Jan-2003

Just when you thought the Bluespoon was small...

The Sound ID device leverages all the benefits of Bluetooth technology, which allow consumers to use the earpiece wirelessly with any Bluetooth-enabled cell phone. To improve performance and utility even further, the Company has integrated a high performance digital signal processor to digitally enhance the sound quality.

Read the complete story here.
You can also visit the corporate site here and even download the PSS datasheet here in .PDF format.

HowardChui.com does the T300 review - 3:11pm 10-Jan-2003

"As far as bang for your buck goes it doesn't get much better than the T300. For the price of a black and white screen phone you get a triband colour phone which is MMS ready, a camera which takes nice pictures outdoors and feature set which should satisfy most users."

Read the complete story here.

ABI: Smartphones will dominate by 2008 - 2:59pm 10-Jan-2003

According to a new study by Allied Business Intelligence (ABI) the number of replacement handsets shipped will grow from 211 million in 2002 to 591 million units in 2008, representing nearly 85% of all shipments worldwide at that time.

Read the complete story here.

Updated the Links page - 2:50pm 10-Jan-2003

I've updated the links page.

Symbian OS Developers Conference - 2:38pm 10-Jan-2003

It is said that "in Rome, do what the Romans do." That being said, the Sony Ericsson guys in co-operation with Symbian and Nokia will be having a free one day conference in Rome on the 30-Jan-2003. They will show things like how to develope an application that works with Series 60 and UIQ. Waidaminute... Sony Ericsson sleeping with Nokia?!?! The Romans must be crazy! (Alright, I guess I must have been reading too many Asterix comics when I was young).

The event will also include real-life case studies of porting between Series 60 and UIQ, as well as the opportunity to put your specific questions and comments to an expert development panel.

Read the complete story here.

ESATO has a few pictures of commercial P800 in action - 7:26pm 7-Jan-2003

Since the P800 only is available to "selected countries" we have made some pictures and videos of the P800 for you living in non-selected countries.

View the pictures here.

Hong Kong plans to label all mobile phones with SAR ratings - 7:24pm 7-Jan-2003

Hong Kong's Telecommunications Authority (TA) is planning to introduce a scheme that would provide relevant information to consumers on radiofrequency (RF) radiation safety of hand-held mobile phones. This is to assure consumers that the mobile phones they use would comply with the internationally accepted safety limits on RF radiation.

Read the complete story here.

Bluejacking(tm) a way of life for an SE user - 6:58pm 7-Jan-2003

On 16-Dec-2002, I posted a news bit here on my website and also in the ESATO web forums. That trick of mine has now been labeled "Bluejacking" and to my amazement, people have been using it to firstly annoy Nok*a users, and then to get to know other SE users and even one that requested a song from a DJ. The thread is now getting pretty big (to about 100 messages posted on this topic alone) and I thought I'd share it with you.

You can read the bluejacking thread here.

Malaysian ESATO members meet for the first time... - 10:00am 6-Jan-2003

The Malaysian ESATO member had a get together on the 4th of January, 2003 in EricServe, AmCorp Mall, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. The guys who attended were ShawO, yapliren, shithappens, fulat^t68 and alex. Also there was Jeffrey Yap and Mr. Chong from EricServe.


Left to right: yapliren, ShawO, shithappens, fulat^t68 and alex
Waiting for our food and drinks.


Back (left to right): ShawO, alex, yapliren, shithappens, fulat^t68 and Mr. Chong
Front: Jeffrey Yap


Left to right: ajack (me), ShawO, alex, yapliren, shithappens and fulat^t68

We met at 1:30pm, intoduced ourselves and due to shithappens being hungry ajourned to a nearby restaurant for lunch. We then started talking about what we did and our experiences on Nok*a bashing and in true Sony Ericsson tradition started exchanging contact info via Bluetooth. Everbody seemed to be using a T68 that day.

The pictures above have been shrunk by the browser. If you save a copy of the pictures onto your local drive, you will be able to view a higher resolution copy of the pics.